The need for constant vigilance in the field of human rights protection is becoming more and more intense and joining forces is a one-way street for their respect and recognition, says the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottidi.
In a message on the occasion of World Human Rights Day, Ms Stylianou-Lottidi stresses: "What if there are now binding human rights protection texts when they alone are not able to prevent the violations that take place throughout humanity."
"Our fellow human beings", she says, "continue to suffer discrimination, marginalization or even exploitation, while difficult economic conditions and ongoing conflicts or conditions of persecution that force people to flee their countries of origin reflect our failure as global citizens to safeguard the effective enjoyment of human rights indiscriminately and particularly for vulnerable groups of the population."
"Our fellow human beings", she says, "continue to suffer discrimination, marginalization or exploitation, while difficult economic conditions and ongoing conflicts or conditions of persecution that force people to flee their countries of origin reflect our failure as global citizens to safeguard the effective enjoyment of human rights indiscriminately and particularly for vulnerable groups of the population.
She also adds that "the dark streets of war continue to take centre stage, the sirens continue to threaten, sometimes to stimulate memories and sometimes to alert individuals to the impending danger."
Referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a necessary instrument to safeguard human dignity, Ms. Lottidi says that "in the face of the paranoia of the second world war, the remembrance of it is more relevant today than ever", adding that "armed conflicts, torture, prisoners of war, rape, uprooting, despair, with humanity once again testing its strength, especially its mental strength".
As he notes "as an Ombudsman institution, and NHRI (National Human Rights Authority) as guardians of the rule of law and the protection of human rights, we have a key role in identifying vulnerable groups of the population and supporting them", adding that "we have a role to become their voice and their cry, and especially this year, with the recent re-evaluation of the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights by the relevant UN Sub-Commission as an NHRI, awarding the status (status) A for the first time, this role becomes more pronounced and our responsibility greater.
Source: Cyprus Times
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